Simple Gardening
Now that Spring is approaching you might want to consider starting a garden. First, think about what you want to plant. Seed catalogs are a good place to start, and if you’ve ever ordered from one they come every winter like clockwork. There are also many places online to order seeds.
When the weather is warm enough and all danger of frost is past, it is time to head to the garden center. Once there, you can buy seeds or sets for the different plants you want to grow. There are flowers for ornamental gardens, vegetables for a vegetable garden, or herbs for a herb garden. Plants that are already growing will fruit or bloom faster in your garden, but they are of course more expensive. Seeds take longer to grow, but you can start them indoors and get a head start on Spring and save some money over buying sets. It is of course up to you what you want to plant and how you want to go about planting your garden.
On a nice day when the ground is not too wet begin preparing the soil for your garden. If you already have a space cleared for a garden just clear out the dead plants from last year and add fertilizer and dig over the soil. If you are starting a new garden in what used to be grass, remove the sod and then dig over the soil. If you have a large area to prepare consider using a rototiller, which will save you the trouble of digging by hand.
Mark out rows for your seeds with string and stakes. Drag a hoe down the rows to make a furrow. Plant your seeds in the furrow at the proper spacing as stated on the seed packet, then cover the furrow and tamp down the soil with the back of the hoe. To plant sets, mark rows, dig holes for the plants with a hand shovel, and plant the sets in the holes, firming the soil around the roots with your hands.
After you plant your garden be sure to water it. Seeds need water to germinate and sets will wilt if they dry out in the sun. Use a garden hose with a light spray, or set up a sprinkler for larger areas. Once your seeds and sets are planted there is nothing else to do for your garden until it starts to grow.
As your garden grows, weeds will sprout. It is important to pull these out or cultivate them under with the hoe when they are small. If you keep the weeds down by hoeing every week, your garden will grow fast and produce plenty of flowers or healthy vegetables for your table.
